Centenarian Artist Glenys Cour: A Life Dedicated to Color Without a Brush

Renowned artist Glenys Cour, nearing her 101st birthday in a matter of weeks, expresses astonishment at her good fortune. Her extensive and dynamic life has revolved around her profound passion for color, during which she found her life partner and even counted the esteemed Welsh poet Dylan Thomas among her friends. She continues to paint daily from her Mumbles residence, which offers views of Swansea Bay. Glenys has consistently foregone the use of a paintbrush, opting instead for the “immediacy” of applying oil paint with torn fabric pieces and her fingers. She stated, “It’s exciting, it’s terribly exciting, I love it.” She further emphasized, “Colour is the most important thing, certainly in my work as well as in my life.” Her professional path as a painter, printmaker, collage and stained-glass artist, and educator, she noted, led her to associate with the “intelligentsia of Swansea.” Beyond Dylan Thomas, whom she affectionately remembers as a “really naughty boy,” her acquaintances encompassed composer Dan Jones, poet Vernon Watkins, painter Ceri Richards, and sculptor Ranald Cour, whom she later married. This “pretty hectic” adult social existence contrasted sharply with her early childhood experiences. Born as Glenys Carthew in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, in 1924, she was an only child whose father managed a colliery. Due to her father’s profession, her family relocated seven times across the south Wales valleys, residing in various manager’s houses distinct from those of the workers. During the 1930s Depression, the contrast between her comparatively comfortable life and the circumstances of the workers and their families resulted in her isolation from other children. “The circumstances of my father being a manager in a colliery meant you didn’t make friends,” she stated. She recounted an instance of walking past terraced houses and overhearing children playing, imitating her. “They were playing school and I heard them say ‘now I’m Glenys Carthew’,” she recalled. She added, “And I realised I was posh, I didn’t know… it was shattering actually.” However, at home, her imagination was stimulated by the books her father read to her, leading her to invent her own fairy tales to share with classmates. “When I think of it now I must have been very odd,” she laughed. She also dedicated many hours to drawing on paper her father brought from work, uncovering a passion for generating new colors using watercolor paints. Becoming an artist was “inevitable,” she commented, and she excelled at Cardiff School of Art, under the tutelage of renowned painter Ceri Richards. Richards is considered among the most significant British artists of the 20th Century. “He opened my eyes, he was wonderful, he taught me how to see,” she remarked. Following her college education, she accepted a teaching role in Fishguard, residing with her grandmother and aunt. Soon after, she relocated to Swansea for a position as an art teacher at Glanmor Girls School. She enrolled in evening life drawing classes at Swansea College of Art, where she encountered her future husband, sculptor Ronald Cour, who was lecturing at the institution. She was immediately captivated upon meeting him. “The funny thing that stood out was the fact he had beautiful hands and anyway, I fancied him,” she stated, with a glint in her eye. She chose to conceal herself in the ladies’ toilets to intercept him as he departed the building at day’s end. “I waited until he came level with the door and I opened the door and bumped into him,” she laughed. “We walked down the stairs together and he said to me ‘would you like to come for a drink?’.” They proceeded to the Bush Hotel on Swansea’s High Street, which has since been demolished. This marked her initial visit to a pub and also her first encounter with Dylan Thomas, a school friend of her new partner. “I discovered the best place to meet people when you didn’t know anybody was the pub,” she remarked. “I met all the intelligentsia of Swansea really.” She married Ronald, who was a decade older than her, at the age of 25. “We had a pretty hectic social life, a wonderful social life, it was a rich social life, music, theatre, everything,” she stated. “I loved it all, I was so lucky and I adored my husband.” “He was always over my shoulder telling me I was wonderful.” The couple welcomed a daughter named Jane, and both their professional careers flourished. However, in May 1978, Glenys’ life was shattered by the sudden and unexpected death of Ronald at the age of 63. “I didn’t think I could live,” she expressed. “Honestly, I really thought I couldn’t live without him.” She took a one-week leave from work before immersing herself in painting. “I don’t think I’d have got through it if I hadn’t,” she commented. “I immersed myself in it.” “I go through that door and forget everything.” Nearly five decades later, Ronald continues to be a significant presence in her life, and she admitted to still conversing with him. Her living room is decorated with black and white photographs of him and his sculptural works. Following Ronald’s passing, she embarked on a phase of intense creativity and dedicated thirty years to teaching at Swansea College of Art. “I love people and I love teaching,” she stated. “To be standing up in front of a group of students and trying to open their eyes, there’s nothing more thrilling than that.” Presently, her artworks are featured in numerous private and public collections, and she has had extensive exhibitions across Europe and the US. A significant retrospective exhibition of her work took place at Swansea’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in 2014. When asked about the source of her longevity, she responded, “I think it’s the fact that I’m working, I’m sure of it, it’s a necessity.” She added, “I could never get over my good luck for the whole of my life, I’ve been blessed.” “I’ve had a fantastic life. I really, really mean it.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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